Villa del Mar Awarded 2014 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

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Recognised as a Top Performing Resort as Reviewed by Travelers on the World’s Largest Travel Site

Villa del Mar Resort in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos has received a 2014 TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Establishments awarded the Certificate of Excellence are located all over the world and represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website.

When selecting 2014 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account reviews ratings. Businesses must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, volume and recency of reviews. Additional criteria include a business’ tenure and popularity ranking on the site.

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at Villa del Mar and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” says Alan Lawley, Director of Operations & Development at Villa del Mar. “There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business, and our continued commitment to excellence.”

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional hospitality businesses for consistent excellence,” states Marc Charron, President of TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award gives top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers. From Australia to Zimbabwe, we want to applaud exceptional hospitality businesses for offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience.”

“We continue to receive high praise from our guests,” says Alan, “and I’d like to share an example of another letter we received just a couple of days ago from first time visitors to Providenciales. Comments like these drive us each day to provide the very best guest experience.”

“Dear Alan:

Thanks for providing such a welcoming setting for my wife and myself during our visit to Providenciales on May 13 to 18. We felt at home at Villa del Mar, and there are many reasons why this was so: Our spacious new suite was well designed with good windows, balcony, kitchen, etc. for comfortable long-term living. A first-class elevator gives easy access. Outside, the expertly and lavishly landscaped resort property is a feast for the eyes. The gray bismarck palms are an interesting touch. Then there is the staff. These people, with their great warmth, are a delight. Three stood out for me. 1. Josalee was a congenial front-desk expert, both in person and on the telephone. 2. Tendra, also at the front desk, on hearing of my wife’s sunburn, had cuttings from your Aloe vera plant sent to our room for soothing the burns. As we followed Tendra’s instructions and applied this ancient remedy, I felt a sense of connection with the native taínos, now long gone. 3. Rose, who runs the continental breakfast, was a treat to talk with. Her trilingual conversations reflect the cultural diversity of the island. And her elegant breakfast, its bounty spilling from the Tiki hut, was the perfect way to begin each day. I forgot to ask Rose the secret of her coffee. Finally, there’s Villa del Mar’s premium location on the island, with just a short path to the Grace Bay Beach, and many restaurants and a supermarket nearby.

Please find attached a photograph of the handsome green heron who came in the mornings and evenings to look for something to eat in the grass near the tiki hut. I took this photo while I was enjoying breakfast at an umbrella table. On his route the heron sometimes moved along the ground and other times from tree to tree, on the lowest branches. Occasionally he would make quite a racket with a loud “kuk kuk kuk . . . ” call.

All your other guests appeared to be decades younger than my wife and I; and I had to smile to myself, imagining that our presence might have afforded them a bit of entertainment—someone perhaps saying, oh look at that cute old couple.

Although this was our first visit to Providenciales, we are not strangers to island life and have lived and traveled in the Caribbean on and off since 1967, an experience which has given us a special perspective. We saw your island through our Caribbean lens, and we found an island that clearly has a lot going for it, at least for the present. But you probably knew that already.

Sadly, we discovered our allotted time with you was far too short. We may have spent too much of it relaxing in our comfortable accommodations and not enough out and about. We did not have a chance to truly explore the island’s famed cuisine, reefs, avian environment. To do that, we’ll have to come again.

Sincerely,

T.F.”

PS Thank you and your associate for the reading lamp. We made good use of it.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world’s largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching nearly 260 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 39 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.